Nonstop flight route between Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar and Tampa, Florida, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Sainte Marie Airport (SMS), Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar and MacDill Air Force Base (MCF), Tampa, Florida, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,324 miles (or 15,006 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Sainte Marie Airport and MacDill Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Sainte Marie Airport and MacDill Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Sainte Marie Airport (SMS):

• The closest airport to Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Toamasino Airport (TMM), which is located 76 miles (122 kilometers) SSW of SMS.
• Because of Sainte Marie Airport's relatively low elevation of 7 feet, planes can take off or land at Sainte Marie Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Sainte Marie Airport (SMS) is Guerrero Negro Airport (GUB), which is located 11,161 miles (17,962 kilometers) away in Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Facts about MacDill Air Force Base (MCF):

• Flying operations at MacDill began in 1941 with the base's first mission being the defense of Gulf of Mexico.
• In addition to being known as "MacDill Air Force Base", another name for MCF is "MacDill AFB".
• The furthest airport from MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Shark Bay Airport (MJK), which is located 11,436 miles (18,405 kilometers) away in Monkey Mia, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to MacDill Air Force Base (MCF) is Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of MCF.
• The base also supports the large military retiree community in the Tampa Bay area and surrounding environs.
• The host unit at MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Mobility Wing, assigned to the Air Mobility Command's 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force.
• In February 1945, the 323d Combat Crew Training Wing was established at the base with a mission of training B-29 Superfortress aircrews.
• In addition MacDill provided transitional training in the B-17 Flying Fortress.